The Avengers: An IMAX 3D Experience (2012)

I'm a bit late to the Avengers love fest but now that I'm here I've still got a couple of axes to grind before my analysis on the film itself so bare with me for a moment while we take a look at the "IMAX 3D Experience" part of my review. We'll address The Avengers after the break so you can skip ahead if you like.

True IMAX experience creates an enrapturing cinematic immersion in an era where home theaters are quickly becoming more and more capable of capturing the flavors of cinema. The large format 70mm projection system on 76 x 98 foot screens is a sight to behold and is always the preferable way to truly experience cinema. Christopher Nolan is of course one of the best proponent of 70mm today and shot parts of The Dark Knight and even more of The Dark Knight Rises using IMAX camera to best utilize 70mm. For me this is worth the extra money for the venue and I happily forked over $14.50 for a matinee seat for The Avengers. However there is an ugly commercial side to the IMAX franchise. There are newly christened IMAX theater screens which are only 28 x 58 feet in size.

There is a more extensive article titled Is IMAX the next "New Coke"? which gives a good rundown of the situation. The closest IMAX theater to me was opened by AMC and it is one of these IMAX in name only situations. Originally I was weary of the announced opening and was unable to find any specifics about the screen size at this location. I went there to see TRON: Legacy to confirm the size and sadly it was indeed not a full IMAX screen. The 3D experience was also substandard because the image was noticably darker with the 3D glasses on this IMAX screen then the 3D I've seen on other true IMAX screens. There was also a more pronounced moire effect with the passive glasses on this screen. I've continued to drive out of my way to see The Adventures of Tintin and The Avengers at the original IMAX theaters in their proper 76x98 foot glory. The difference in brightness of the 3D with glasses at the true IMAX screen for The Avengers was negligible when compared without glasses. The 3D experience itself was effective with only a few minor moments where the 3D alignment was not properly adjusted.

3D itself is hotly debated and I'm somewhat bemused by the constant question "is 3D dead yet?" The prevalence of 3D today can be looked at very much the way sound or color were viewed in its day. After all black and white films were still common up until the 1970's. Like sound and color the third dimension is an every day occurrence that should be incorporated into our cinematic experience. Although I sympathize with those who can't appreciate 3D I have the same feeling towards those who are death or color blind. One of my friends only has one eye and could not enjoy Avatar the same way as I did when we went to see it in 3D. He watched the movie with the glasses on showing just one plane but he was still impressed with the IMAX screen. Technology is ever progressing however and I don't doubt that when glasses free 3D will become the prevalent norm it will leave generations to wonder what the whole debate was about (if they're aware of the debate at all).

Cheap 3D conversions are another subject all together and I'm not too keen on updating older films to 3D any more than I'm interested in colorizing black and white films, full screen versions of widescreen films or other such tinkering. Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland was an exception, not the rule, and that was because they took the time and consideration to make it a true 3D experience. When the filmmakers are taking 3D conversion into consideration while on set and in post-production with the proper attention films shot truly in 3D take that consistently produces fine results. I don't hold any grudges with the current films making the conversion to 3D like The Avengers have.

Now, with all that out of the way, let's take a look at the film in question. There are plot point revelations so you are forewarned spoilers are ahead as Joss Whedon's The Avengers is after the jump...